Host factors and clinical outcomes of Candida colonization in critically ill patients

This study aimed to describe factors and outcomes associated with Candida colonization of critically ill patients. This was a cross-sectional study conducted over 2 weeks in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary care hospital at the Texas Medical Center, Houston, TX. All Candida samples were prospectively collected with demographic and clinical data collected retrospectively. We examined 48 patients, 32 (67%) were colonized with Candida spp; 25 (52.1%) patients were isolated with Candida albicans and 18 (37.5%) were isolated with a non-albicans species, mostly commonly Candida glabrata. A multivariate analysis identified proton pump inhibitor administration at admission to ICU [odds ratio 5.66; 95% confidence interval 1.12-28.5] as associated with colonization. Patients colonized with Candida had a significantly longer length of ICU and hospital stays (7.6 ± 6.6 vs. 4.2 ± 2.6 days, P = 0.01 and 14.9 ± 12.9 vs. 7.5 ± 6.7 days, P = 0.02, respectively). Clonality testing between C. albicans and C. glabrata strains identified indistinguishable strains among the patient cohort. These data provide additional information on Candida colonization in critically ill patients.